Tag Archives: morning-after pill

Thursday: Overcast with rain, then thunderstorms and rain in the afternoon. High of 66. Breezy. Winds from the ESE at 10 to 20 mph shifting to the NE in the afternoon. Chance of rain 100% with rainfall amounts near 1.0 in. possible. Thursday night: Overcast with rain. Fog overnight. Low of 55. Windy. Winds from the NNE at 20 to 25 mph with gusts to 35 mph. Chance of rain 100% with rainfall amounts near 2.1 in. possible.

The City Council on Wednesday voted in favor of a bill that will end unnecessary parking payments at Muni Meters. Read more: CBS New York

Queens Borough President hopeful Melinda Katz adds Working Families Party endorsement to Democratic Party nod

The Working Families Party has thrown its support behind Democrat Melinda Katz in her bid to become Queens’ next borough president. Read more: New York Daily News

Brooklyn Nets hire Jason Kidd as coach

The Brooklyn Nets hired Jason Kidd as their coach Wednesday, bringing the former star back to the franchise he led to its greatest NBA success. Read more: AP

Justice Dept. supports NYPD monitor

The U.S. Justice Department says it would strongly endorse a court-appointed monitor to oversee changes at the New York Police Department if a judge were to find its stop-and-frisk practices unconstitutional. Read more: AP

Restaurant owners protest NYC foam containers ban

A proposal to eliminate plastic foam takeout containers in New York City was met with criticism Wednesday by restaurateurs who said a ban on the ubiquitous containers would drive up costs and potentially put them out of business. Read more: NBC New York

Judge approves FDA plan to drop limits on morning after pill

A U.S. district court judge on Wednesday approved a U.S. Food and Drug Administration plan to allow unrestricted sales of Plan B One-Step, a one-pill version of the emergency contraception drug. Read more: Reuters

Monday: Partly cloudy. High of 59. Breezy. Winds from the West at 10 to 20 mph. Monday night: Partly cloudy in the evening, then clear. Low of 43. Winds from the NW at 5 to 15 mph.

EVENT OF THE DAY: EXPO 1: New York

EXPO 1: New York, an exploration of ecological challenges in the context of the economic and socio-political instability of the early 21st century opens at MoMA PS1, The Museum of Modern Art, and Rockaway Beach. Acting in the guise of a festival-as-institution, EXPO 1: New York imagines a contemporary art museum dedicated to ecological concerns, presenting a simultaneity of modules, interventions, solo projects, and group exhibitions including a school, a colony, a cinema, a geodesic dome, Rain Room, and more. On view until September 2. Click here for more info or to submit an event of your own

VIDEO: 7 train assault

The NYPD is asking for the public’s assistance in identifying a suspect and victim in an assault aboard the 7 train within the confines of the 108th Precinct. Read more: The Queens Courier

Queens powerbroker Rev. Floyd Flake will endorse Bill Thompson for mayor on Sunday — four years after turning his back on him in favor of Mayor Bloomberg. Read more: New York Daily News

New Amtrak trains to hit East Coast tracks

When Amtrak unveils the first of 70 new locomotives Monday at a plant in California, it will mark what the national passenger railroad service hopes will be a new era of better reliability, streamlined maintenance and better energy efficiency. Read more: CBS New York/AP

Ex-White House aides, security executives named to N.Y. State cyber-security board

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has named former White House aides and security executives for an advisory board focused on protecting state infrastructure and information systems. Read more: CBS New York/AP

Nineteen shot in New Orleans Mother’s Day parade

Nineteen people including two children were shot in New Orleans on Sunday when gunfire erupted at a Mother’s Day parade, and city police said they were searching for three suspects. Read more: Reuters

Monday last day for morning-after pill appeal

The government is running out of time to try to halt implementation of a federal judge’s ruling that would lift age restrictions for women and girls wanting to buy the morning-after pill. Read more: AP

A federal judge has ordered that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must make the “morning-after” pill available over the counter to females of all ages, going against the initial requirement of having a prescription for girls under 17, according to published reports.

U.S. District Judge Edward R. Korman issued the decision after a lawsuit was filed by advocates of “reproductive-rights” groups that have been fighting to get rid of the age restrictions on the emergency contraception pill, reported Reuters.

“More than twelve years have passed since the Citizen Petition was filed and eight years since this lawsuit commenced. The FDA has engaged in intolerable delays in processing the petition. Indeed, it could accurately be described as an administrative agency filibuster,” the judge wrote in his ruling.

The pill, known as Plan B, is currently sold to women 17 or older without a prescription but who must show proper identification. If taken up to 72 hours after unprotected sex, Plan B can terminate a pregnancy.

Though Plan B, also known as the “morning-after” pill, has been dispensed at select New York City high schools since January 2011, its availability was not widely reported until recently.

The pilot program, which also provides birth control to students, started with five schools then expanded to nine more at the start of the 2011-2012 school year, said New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) spokesperson Veronica Lewin.

Last school year, 567 students received Plan B at the pilot schools, she said.

One school dropped out of the program, but the emergency contraception is still available to any student at 13 high schools as part of the Connecting Adolescents to Comprehensive Health (CATCH) program, which aims to prevent teen pregnancy.

There are no plans yet to expand it, said Lewin.

Four schools in Queens are in the pilot: John Adams High School in Ozone Park, VOYAGES Preparatory High School in Elmhurst, Newcomers High School and Queens Vocational and Technical High School in Long Island City. “Schools were selected based on their community pregnancy rates and availability of other services in the neighborhood. The principals were also supportive of the program,” said Lewin.

According to the Health Department, in New York City more than 7,000 young women become pregnant by age 17, 90 percent of which are unplanned.

Plan B must be taken within 72 hours after unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy. It is available without a prescription for women 17 and older. Those that are younger need a prescription for it, but it is offered free or at a low cost to all teens at some area health clinics. According to Planned Parenthood, Plan B can cost from $10 to $70.

Before the pilot, the morning-after pill had been available to students at privately-run school based health centers, said Lewin.

All of the city’s public high schools already have a mandated Condom Availability Program, where each school must have a Health Resource Room with free condoms. Parents can opt their children out of that program by signing a form.

An opt-out form was also sent home to parents for the Plan B pilot, said Lewin, and about one to two percent of parents have signed it.

Some students at the Queens high schools offering Plan B were well aware that it was available and had received the opt-out form, but others were hearing about it for the first time on Monday, September 24.

“[I learned about Plan B] right now. The class talked about it during government,” said Alondra Payan, a 16-year-old senior at Queens Vocational and Technical High School. “I think it would be better if there was an age restriction. There are kids that are 13, 14 here and they are going to be sexually active because now they think that because of the Plan B it’ll be safe.”

“I found out when it was posted in the newspaper last year,” said Mary Paguay, also a student at Queens Vocational. “If the parents don’t return the opt-out form any child is able to get it. I feel it’s sort of bad because you don’t have the parent’s permission but if the child is in need of it then they probably would want it.”

Some critics are afraid that if it is handed out to teens for free or without parental permission, it will be used as a regular birth control method; others are concerned that it will lead to an increase in sexually transmitted diseases.

The Health Department’s website stresses that a condom should be used to protect against STDs, and that using ongoing birth control, such as the pill, is the best way to prevent pregnancy.

Monday: Clear. High of 66. Winds from the NW at 5 to 10 mph shifting to the WSW in the afternoon. Monday night: Clear. Low of 54. Winds from the SW at 5 to 10 mph.

EVENT of the DAY: CityParks Seniors Fitness program

Starting today, the CityParks Seniors Fitness program will offer free yoga, tennis and fitness walking classes in parks across the five boroughs.The classes, which are open to New Yorkers 60 and older, last for seven weeks. All equipment and instruction is free. Sessions are one hour long and take place twice a week. Click here for more info or to submit an event of your own

Empty Key Food store spells disappointment for Flushing residents

The large signs plastered outside the shuttered Key Food on Parsons Blvd. in Flushing shout “Lost Our Lease” but the story is way more complicated. Read more: New York Daily News

Couple seeking custody of kids they ‘kidnapped’

A Queens couple that busted their eight kids out of foster care last year and later spent 90 days in prison for custodial interference is now suing — for custody. Read more: New York Post

Woman, 64, dies aboard Korean Air flight into JFK Airport

A 64-year-old woman died of natural causes aboard a Korean Air flight into Kennedy Airport Sunday, officials said. Read more: New York Daily News

Multi-million dollar kennel planned for Kennedy Airport

John F. Kennedy International Airport is going to the dogs. And cats. And probably birds and horses. Read more: CBS New York

New York City public schools offering ‘morning-after pill’

The New York City Department of Education has begun offering the so-called morning-after pill to students in a pilot program at 13 high schools across the city. Read more: CBS New York

Obama launches new tax offensive against Romney

President Barack Obama’s campaign is launching a new offensive Monday against Republican Mitt Romney, blasting the GOP nominee for criticizing Americans who don’t pay income taxes without having “come clean” about his own. Read more: AP

Week-old Giant panda cub dies at National Zoo

The giant panda cub born a week ago at the National Zoo in Washington died Sunday morning, saddening zoo officials and visitors who had heralded its unexpected arrival. Read more: ABC New York/AP

‘Homeland’ and ‘Modern Family’ win big at Emmys

The post-Emmy champagne surely tasted sweet for the people at “Modern Family” and “Homeland,” but they needed only to look around the Nokia Theatre to see how quickly popular tastes and Hollywood’s most unpredictable awards show can change perceptions. Read more: AP